Claymation, Chile and Nazi Germany offshoots combine in Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León's first full-length feature, THE WOLF HOUSE

Strange does not begin to describe the "bizarrosities" you'll find in THE WOLF HOUSE, the debut full-lengther (after a number of short films) from the creative duo of Chilean-born artists and filmmakers, Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña. Jumping off from storytelling and fairytales into Nazism and Chile's own not-so-long-past fling with a dictator who gloried in torture and murder, the pair use symbols of just about every sort -- colors to animals to you-name-it -- to tell their fractured tale of a young woman, her two "children," and the descent into fascism.

Señores León and Cociña (shown above, with the latter on the left) seem to prefer the dark and the allusive to the lighter and more obvious. While this may sound promising (and for awhile it certainly is), for TrustMovies, this eventually weighs their movie down to the point that I grew tired of the utter dankness and repetition of being constantly hammered by symbols and what eventually seemed like awfully obvious, if not cheap-jack psychology.

For those of us who know and understand (granted, in my case, from afar) Chile's history and duality, the movie has its dark rewards, and I should think it will resonate most strongly in its homeland, and other nearby South American countries, each of which has had its own history of dictatorship and huge human-rights abuses. (As we here in the USA may ourselves soon have even more of.) Also, I suspect that shrinks and/or students/teachers of psychology will find much to marvel over here.

How you react to the animation may be another matter. I went into the viewing, as I do with all movies, without reading much about the film. I prefer to figure things out for myself -- this is simply more rewarding, overall, than being told by critics and/or publicists what you are about to see -- and this also allows surprise to do its work. Once I'd watched The Wolf House, I went back to read more about it, and I admit that the manner in which the artists did the filming is unusual and in its way impressive. (You can read more about that, should you choose to, here.)

While the claymation/stop-motion animation is often formidable visually, I don't think these artists have found anything close to a real storytelling ability with which to match their art. Symbols (with a little history tossed in) may be fine for awhile, but when that's what's mostly there, it all begins to pale. The brothers Grimm used symbols, too, intentionally or not, but they also knew how to tell a whale of a tale.

I originally watched The Wolf House almost two months ago, and unfortunately the notes I took seem to have gone with the wind. I don't have the time (or the desire) to view it again, but I remember all too well my initial reaction of being impressed with the art, while understanding the symbols, politics and philosophy, without finally caring a whole lot about the movie itself.

The film is unusual enough in a number of ways, however, that you may well have a different reaction. Running just 73 minutes, in German and Spanish with English subtitles, The Wolf House was to have opened theatrically in various cities but is now getting a virtual-theater debut nationwide, beginning this Friday, May 15, via KimStim. Click here then scroll down for more information and/or to see the very long list of participating virtual theaters across the country.  

On Blu-ray/DVD: Masaaki Yuasa's bizarre, boisterous (and eventually pretty profound) anime, THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL

TrustMovies doesn't know quite what he expected when he sat down to view THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL, the 2017 Japanese anime just now hitting Blu-ray and DVD via the combined auspices of Shout! Factory and GKIDS.

According to the press release, the animated movie is "a free-wheeling comedy about one epic night in Kyoto, in which a group of teens go out on the town." While that description is, yes, more-of-less true, it barely begins to give you an idea of the utter strangeness and (I think) cultural foreignness of what you are about to encounter.

Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (shown at left), the movie -- based on a popular novel of the same name written by Tomihiko Morimi and illustrated by Yusuke Nakamura (the latter also served as the film's original character designer) -- is so full of oddball characters, both human and supernatural, and cultural references seeming perhaps rather bizarre to non-Japanese, that uninitiated viewers had best sit back and simply let the movie flow in, over and through them.

Eventually, during the final third of this 93 minute movie, things begins to coalesce and, if you're anything like me, you may find yourself surprisingly moved by the theme that finally makes itself most felt: that of how important are the connections -- all kinds of 'em -- between people.

In the film's most surprising scene, our heroine explains to an evil supernatural being how his misdeeds have actually connected people so that they -- and he -- are not alone. My god, this might mean there is hope even for someone like Donald Trump. (No, I am going way too far with that prognosis.)

That heroine, a college sophomore, known here as Otome (above), is being followed/stalked (but nicely) by a senior called Senpai (below), a probably decent enough fellow who is coming undone because he can't deal with or understand his mixed feelings of affection, sex, love, caring and all the rest.

The anime is peopled with lots of other characters, many of whom are as bizarre and interesting as all else in this very strange and energetic movie, the animation of which is super colorful and often quite inventive -- more and more so as the movie rolls along.

There's a "used-book ghost/being" (above), a love-smitten character who refuses to change his underpants, and a friendly pervert (below) with quite the collection of erotica (further below, with the sexual organs blocked by colorful florals).

Otome drinks like a fish yet never seems to actually get drunk. She can drink everyone else in the film under the table: This is one of her many "abilities" -- and one reason for parents to make sure they watch the film along with their under-age kids and then try to explain it all later.

The movie compares to little else I've seen (though maybe you're more anime-educated), and I suspect it will stick with me for some time. The combo Blu-ray/DVD package hits the street this coming Tuesday, January 29 -- for purchase and/or (I hope) rental. Enjoy!

Film noir and subversive humor combine with animation in Jian Liu's HAVE A NICE DAY

Not comparable with much else that TrustMovies has so far seen, especially in the realm of animation, Chinese filmmaker Jian Liu's new bizarre concoction entitled, with supreme irony, HAVE A NICE DAY proves such a darkly amusing look at China's underside -- does this country possess an "upside"?  Even when we see its cultural capitals and sleek skyscrapers, there always seems to be nefarious doings afoot --  that our grin turns quickly into a grimace.

As we watch Mr. Jian (shown below), as writer/director, take a gimlet-eyed look at what passes for a part of China's middle class (most if not all of them involved in crooked dealings), we see a society in which nitwit consumerism reigns supreme. (Yes, one might say that the USA reflects all of this, too.)

It seems that not only criminals, gangsters and family members are dirty, but maybe even some Buddhist monks, as well. "Dirty" may not be quite le mot juste, however, as these folk are simply trying to get ahead (or merely survive) as best they can. What they do ranges from criminal (unless stealing from a criminal is not a criminal act) to merely immoral, very violent or just plain mean.

Jian's movie is full of economics, humor, philosophy and politics -- though the latter is, I suspect, somewhat buried. If I were Chinese I'm sure I would have gleaned at least double the amount of information and enjoyment from the film, yet what I managed to get still provided an awfully good time.

My favorite moment comes as a criminal couple (above) imagines their upcoming life in Shangri-la (below) as a kind of musical number done in the style of those old Chinese Communist propaganda songs.

Among the philosophical wonders here is the explanation by one character to another of why freedom actually equals consumerism, while what you get depends on where you buy. This is quite the original little gem.

Animation-wise the movie's simplicity also proves its great strength. Jian mostly uses stationary backgrounds in front of which the action takes place. It's an odd combo of realism and stylization, and it works very well to create what you might call animation noir.

We follow along as that ever-popular "bag of money" leads one character to another and yet another until we've come full circle and seen what greed (and, yes, need) can produce. The fact that the first fellow we meet (you couldn't in your wildest dreams call him a hero) is stealing that money in order to pay for a second facial surgery for his girlfriend (because her first one was badly botched) just adds to the film's "crazy consumerism" theme. (Too bad Jian doesn't animate that bad plastic surgery; it'd be interesting to see what he came up with.)

There is so much dark fun to be had here, with much of this coming from the fact that (probably to keep his budget in tow) the director cuts away from almost all of the kind of excess blood, gore, car crashes and "action stuff" that so many of our current blockbusters delight in overdoing.

From Strand Releasing and running a just right 77-minutes, Have a Nice Day opens this Friday, January 26, in New York City at the Angelika Film Center and in Los Angeles, the following Friday, February 2, at Laemmle's Ahrya Fine Arts -- after which it will play another 18 cities across the country. Click here, then scroll down to click on Screenings in the task bar, to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Dark-horse pick for Best Animated Feature: Claude Barras' MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI

Once in awhile, amidst the Oscar-nominated. blockbuster animation movies from the big studios, can be found a small, foreign gem. So it is again this year, with the nomination of MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI, the Swiss film directed by Claude Barras, with a screenplay co-written by that wonderful French filmmaker Céline Sciamma. The unusual thing this year, regarding the nominations for Best Animated Feature Film, is that three of the five movies are of this smaller variety: what you might call animated "art" films.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a simply gorgeous, rapturous piece of animation, in which, unfortunately, the vivid style is undercut by the film's somewhat meagre and occasionally clichéd content. I have not seen the other smaller film, The Red Turtle, nor have I watched Disney's nod to feminism, Moana, but I found its Zootopia one of the wittiest and non-stop enjoyable mainstream animation endeavors I've yet viewed -- with a much-needed message about equality and opportunity to impart to this dreadful Trump time, as well.

But back to that Zucchini:  M. Barras' fine accomplishment (the filmmaker is shown above) in this little delight of claymation animation is to turn the usual clichés of the tale of the orphans' life on their head so that we see things in quite a different manner.  Instead of an uncaring bureaucracy that shovels those "wards of the state" into dreary, unpleasant circumstances, here it is the caretakers of the orphans who care the most -- from the head of the orphanage and its workers to the kindly policeman (below, right) who is the first responder on the scene of the accident that renders our little hero, known as Zucchini, an orphan.

Indeed, it is an actual blood relative of another of the orphans who proves the film's major villainess. Oliver Twist (in any of its many incarnations), this ain't. As seems more and more true with each passing year, the wonders that can be done with animated characters to make them emotionally galvanizing are put to amazing use here. Barras' claymation effects are alternately moving and quite funny -- and always richly rendered.

The story tacks our hero's life once his alcoholic mother dies and he is placed in the care of that orphanage, among a small group of children, each of whom is rendered with fine specificity and individuality. Zucchini himself (above) is a lovely creation, as is the young orphan girl, Camille (below, left), who soon joins the crew.

But is is the not-so-typical bully, Simon (below), who quietly and gently takes over as the most special and interesting character. Here, too, Barras and Sciamma upend the usual clichés to create a young boy who will move you beyond expectation.

Kindness and generosity seem in such short supply these days that My Life as a Zucchini immediately takes its place as an arbiter of what might occur, should government begin to wisely and kindly care for its citizens. As seen here, Switzerland seems like some sort of heaven. And the USA? Well, we can dream, can't we?

The movie, distributed by GKIDS in both its original French language with English subtitles and a new (and very good) dubbed-in-English version, runs just 67 minutes. It opens this Friday, February 24, in New York City and the Landmark Sunshine Cinema, in Los Angeles at the Landmark NuArt, and in Vancouver at the Vancity Theater. In the weeks to come it will hit cities all across the country. To view the many currently scheduled playdates, with cities and theaters listed, click here and scroll down.

Jean-Loup Felicioli & Alain Gagnol's PHANTOM BOY: more delightful animation from France

Four years ago we got a surprise treat from French animators Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol with their Oscar-nominated gem, A Cat in Paris. Now the pair is back with an equally delightful movie called PHANTOM BOY, about a young fellow with (it's never named but it looks suspiciously like) cancer who somehow manages to leave his own body for periods of time, during which he helps a police detective solve a major criminal case involving a mastermind bent on taking over all of New York City.

Part of the delight of the film comes from its funny French take on the Big Apple -- which is, as you might imagine, noticeably different from the New York you've elsewhere seen. The animators (shown above, with M. Gagnol on the left) offer up their signature style of somewhat slanted eyes (not unlike, I think, Gagnol's own) and attention-calling use of whiskers and other body hair.

But it is the pair's wonderfully fluid and graceful capture of flight as our little hero takes leave of his corporeal body to soar above the city that causes the movie and our spirits to surge.

There is plenty of humor, too -- for both kids and adults -- as the villain, whose masked face is painted in a marvelous combo of film noir and Picasso, keeps attempting but never quite succeeding in both his quest for power and his explanation to our heroine of how his face came to its current and sorry state.

That heroine, a feisty journalist (above, right) attracted to our beleaguered cop (above, left), is a lot of fun, too (her suggestion of what of diet the cop might want to eat should resonate positively with parents -- and negatively with kids).

There are chases and explosions, excitement and suspense, and one nasty, sharp-toothed little dog (above), but there's nothing here that should too much ruffle the feathers of children. The possibility of sacrifice is explored, as well, though the filmmakers back off from the kind of thing that might result in something actual and permanent.

One wonders if the movie might have had an alternate ending for European audiences? This one -- feel-good and all-is-well -- proves perfectly serviceable. But I can't help but think that audiences, even the kids, might have reacted more deeply to a story in which certain actions have logical consequences, even in that magical realm of make-believe.

From GKIDS and running a swift and enjoyable 84 minutes, Phantom Boy opens tomorrow, Friday, July 15, in New York City at the IFC Center, and on July 22 in Los Angeles at the Landmark's NuArt. To view all currently scheduled playdates with cities and theaters listed, click here, then click on FIND A THEATER.

CHEATIN' -- Adult animation thrives, off and on, in Bill Plympton's new infidelity-themed movie

Animator Bill Plympton is about as far as you can get from the bright, primary-colored, family-friendly, constant-action, all-special-effects-all-the-time animated movies that appear in theaters at a rate, these days, of maybe two to three per month. His new film, CHEATIN', is all about exactly that -- except that most of the infidelity here goes on in the fevered brain of our male protagonist, who, in the course of the first fifteen minutes of the film, has met, fallen in lust with, and abandoned his current girlfriend for the arms (and other body parts) of our heroine.

Mr. Plympton (shown at left), whose work I seem to favor in smaller rather than full-length doses, is great at animation that combines both the dark and the rapturous. His amazing and unbelievably numerous pencil lines (I'm thinking they're pencil, anyway) add such strangeness and style to his work. In this new film, a tall, entitled and quite fashionable young lady (below), shown from various angles -- all of them alluring and a little odd -- struts her way along, her face embedded in a book, passing men who seem to become immediately smitten by her. She is, as they say, a piece of work.

One of the things she struts by is a local carnival, to which its owner gives her ticket after ticket until she finally agrees to enter. Then -- don't ask why -- she decides to ride the bumper cars. Something less likely is hard to imagine. But it gives Plympton the chance to go wild with some beautifully animated action.

It also gives our gal the opportunity to meet that lunk of a guy (drawn impeccably weird, he is all biceps and chest but near-zero in the waist department) who soon becomes her new love.

But then -- it seems that hardly any time has passed -- the green-eyed monster raises its head via another young woman who has the hots for our guy. When he shows no interest in her, she conspires to make him think his own gal has been unfaithful. And, oh, the tsuris stirred up here!

The colors range from earth tones to what you might call dank pastel, and the hand-drawing goes from simple pencil lines to full-bore rapture. Mr. Plympton gives us a fire-starter, sex acts, a couple of hard-boiled eggs that look like nothing so much as a pair of gonads, and an ice-box opera complete with refrigerated chorus. Themes get repeated here, too: that earlier bumper car soon becomes one of milady's slippers. And finally there is a machine that offers transmigration-of-souls!

We get fantasy and reality, nice visual equivalents of loneliness and despair, and even a little music from Ravel's Bolero. And, unless I missed something, all of this is without a single line of dialog.  Instead, we're offered music and/or a lot of sound effects: grunting, groaning and the like. This is all both artistic and quite primal. And repetitious.

Even at 76 minutes, the movie's too long and too repetitive. For my taste, Plympton spends too much time on just about every one of his scenes -- until we get it, and then some. That's why I say that this particular animator is often better seen in smaller doses. There's a lot to like in Cheatin', but the actual content of the film does not nearly approach its running time. If unusual and creative animation is enough for you, however, this may very well be your ticket.

The movie opens this Friday, April 3, in New York City at the Village East Cinema. The following week it hits Chicago, and then 17 more locations in the weeks to come. You can view all playdates, with cities and theaters listed, by clicking here. On Tuesday, April 21, the film will have its digital premiere via Vimeo On Demand, for rental or sale.

César-winning animation from France: Omond and Solotareff's WOLFY: The Incredible Secret

Want to see what award-winning French animation looks like? Then, for your own interest -- not to mention that of your pre-teen kids or grandkids --  take a look at WOLFY: THE INCREDIBLE SECRET (Loulou, l'incroyable secret), a film out just now on DVD, digital and VOD, that makes a nice low-key change from some of the multi-multi-million-dollar, uber-flashy animated stuff out of Hollywood. This one's got a lot of charm and creativity going for it, along with off-kilter animation that's fun to view.

I have to admit that my just-turning 10-year-old granddaughter left the room around halfway along, but my just-turning-seven grandson couldn't get enough of the film and pronounced it "really good" and one that he intended to view again. (I suspect that if the leading character, Wolfy, has been female rather than male, my grandkids' interest level would have reversed.) For my part, I found it enjoyable to sit back and watch the work of filmmakers Eric Omond (show above at extreme right) and Grégoire Solotareff, (shown standing, center right), while observing the manner in which the younger generation reacted to the film.

The movie takes on a little oddity from its beginning, as its two main characters (and fast friends) turn out to be a rabbit and a wolf (above). There's no explanation for how this happened -- they just grew up together --  but the movie's plot (along with that :"incredible secret" of the title) has to do with the "history" of Wolfy and his family, and exactly what kind of a wolf he really is.

Due to an bizarrely arranged meeting between wolf, rabbit and a strange bird that morphs into a fortune teller (above), our two friends set off on an adventure to a far-away kingdom where Wolfy's "family" resides.

What makes the movie fun for both generations is the animators' take on various animals and how they play into the tale. Everything from wolves to hedgehogs, moles, cats, dogs and more have their chance to shine (or not). The animation itself is flat line with wonderful colors and a lot of imagination given over to odd angles and charming exaggeration (note the rabbit's ears, just above and three photos above).

Though the threat of harm befalling our heroes is ever-present, this is not a deal-breaker (only once did my grandson scoot over closer to me on the couch at a particularly exciting moment: "You getting scared?" I asked, and he nodded, yes).  Instead the movie mostly keeps its thrills in check to its charms.

There are fine chases (one in the car, above, another throughout the castle), a odd kind of "love" interest (the femme fatale/fashionista fox, below), a reunion with someone long missing, and a budding romance.

Mostly, though, there's that economical animation -- full of smart and clever moments and scenic set-pieces. With a running time of only 80 minutes, Wolfy: The Incredible Secret -- relatively swift and very colorful -- should capture the attention of kids, while leaving their parents in pretty good spirits, too.

The film -- dubbed in English by an OK voice cast, so those kids don't have to read subtitles -- is available now from Random Media & Cinedigm -- on DVD, VOD and via Digital Media.